Girls Gone Bitcoin: Adult Entertainers Embrace Bitcoin

Redditor “into_delusion” posts a verification request, which is later granted.(BTCBible obtained permission to use)

GirlsGoneBitcoin is exactly what you might think it is: online adult entertainers posting erotic images and videos in exchange for bitcoin donations, or “tips.” It’s kind of like an online “strip club,” but instead of inserting bills into bras, patrons send bitcoins to a performer’s shortened bitcoin address (http://btc.to/c2g in the picture above.) Payment is not required, but is obviously encouraged. Readers may make requests from the performers and if the request is granted, it is common courtesy for the patron to send some bitcoins to the performer as a token of appreciation.

Operated by StripCoin.com, GirlsGoneBitcoin was created in March 2012 and currently has 3,166 subscribers. Girls must be verified by video (but are not required to show their face) and there are several other forum rules, including:

Verification photos must include a handwritten postcard with your reddit name, today’s date, and a Bitcoin URL or short address. “Stripcoin.com” on your postcard is recommended so non-bitcoin tippers can learn how to tip you. This gets you “Pic only verified”.

To be Video Verified, make a 10-15 second video and submit it to mods@stripcoin.com. You must display your post card, some identifiable female body parts in motion and verbally state your reddit account name. Face not required.

Unverified posters requesting or posting any type of Bitcoin address will be immediately deleted.

No derogatory comments will be tolerated. If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all. Conversly, if you do have something nice to say, say it with Bitcoin!

Obvious fake, stolen, or reused images will be deleted and result in an immediate account permaban.

No ads unless it is sponsored and posted by a verified entertainer.

There are also several tips, such as:

Video chat with a mod to get full verification (“Video Verified”) and full tipping confidence.

Use a patterned background on your postcards so counterfeiting is more difficult and addresses are more trustworthy.

GirlsGoneBitcoin is an important bitcoin development because it demonstrates a “grassroots” adoption by individual free agents, rather than commercial merchants and businesses. It’s an example of people pledging value to an intangible string of computer code. It shows that people are starting to trust bitcoin, even if they don’t fully understand it. Lastly, the frequent activity on GirlsGoneBitcoin proves that bitcoin has actual convertible value; it can be used to convert a clothed woman into a nude model. It’s a “three-way” win for the entertainer, the patron, and bitcoin.

EDIT: In an attempt to deliver a more balanced analysis, I feel it is important to note that although GirlsGoneBitcoin is a unique bitcoin adoption, it may also be considered an example of the type of “vice consumerism” that taints bitcoin’s reputation. Bitcoin critics point out that the cryptocurrency is used to anonymously fund child pornography. While the same can be said about cash, GirlsGoneBitcoin does not indicate whether it verifies the age of its entertainers. Nor does it mention anywhere that entertainers must be at least 18 years old. This is not to imply that GirlsGoneBitcoin is a child pornography site, but rather to point out a lack of precaution and professionalism which does not cast bitcoin in a positive light.